Persona 3: A Short Story Anthology
by ahugebox
Summary: An anthology of loosely connected short stories surrounding the Persona 3 cast, with a focus on Junpei. Character development heavy! Somehow, it found focus in an unlikely love rectangle.
1. Iori Family Shame

Iori Family Shame

Summary: After a fun afternoon out, Junpei and Minako confront a drunk on the train.

* * *

In between slurps of Hakagure, Junpei tried asking, "So, which boy is on your mind this time?" Minako cringed as part of his ramen soup sailed from Junpei's mouth to her face. Not petty enough to make anything out of it, she wiped her cheek with her sleeve and addressed the question at hand.

"Aki is so cute. But so is Shinji. But I can't go after both because they'd totally tell each other, so I'm at a loss right now." Minako would be slurping on what's left of her ramen, but Junpei already stole the bowl from her end of the table and went through the speedy process of downing it. This monster gobbling through all of her food was her best friend, and thus she tried her best to keep romantic thoughts of him far from her head, but man. That boy could eat. His girlfriend is going to be one happy lady.

"Dude, go after Shinji. Akihiko-senpai already has 20 girls on his tail. Shinji is your best bet." Pulling his head back from the mass destruction of two ramen bowls, Junpei let out a burp rivalling the school bell. They shared a laugh, Junpei paid for the meal, and duo walked to the balcony of the strip mall, overlooking Iwatodai station. Minako recounted Bunkichi downstairs, and the spot at the bottom of the station where she saved Yukari from the underdressed wallet bandits. Side by side, they meandered down to the bottom floor, waving to the old couple inside Bookworms. The geriatric couple called them in for a short minute, and Junpei left the store holding four rolls of melon bread, two for each of them.

They shared some more gossip on the way to the train, and joined the pack of students occupying the middle of the train. However, instead of a warm welcome from the other students, Junpei and Minako joined the can of sardines looking down to the next train.

The train doors opened. Alcoholic aroma seemed to follow. Barely dressed, a middle-aged man in a wife-beater sauntered through the train, screaming profanity. "Fucking. A. Fuck Gekkoukan kids!" The work boot of the monster almost flew off as he kicked in their general direction.

"Iori…?" One of the students whispered. Junpei couldn't evade this one. His father's work shirt, tied around his huge gullet, read "IORI." His darker complexion and chestnut hair called Junpei's, asking for a scene. Begging for action. Lusting for a fight.

Tugging on his sleeve, Minako whispered maternally to Junpei, "Let's go." She knew, of course. Bruises from Tartarus were very distinct, because they were bruises to kill. The purple ones that littered his sides, hugged his torso, painted his legs, those were bruises to hurt. To break. To cause suffering.

Junpei might have the exterior of SuperMan, but inside, he was the same beaten child that his mother would remember if she was still alive. In her dying moments, she thought that maybe the extra responsibility would push Iori into becoming a good father. But she knew differently. Junpei knew differently. As Iori clambered down the train, the small space between the group of students and the raging drunk closed. He threw out more drunk-fu kicks, and mimicked the tossing of a bottle towards one of the younger kids.

 _'That's the student council treasurer,'_ Junpei concluded. Iori's eyes turned from a drunk stupor into the eyes of a predator, and the monster began ramping up his speed. What was her name? "Not Fushimi," one of the other sheep whispered as the wolf came to take her away.

Minako tugged on Junpei's sleeve, begging him to walk away. Let anybody else handle this. Just call the security, and it will be better than if he intervenes. The whimpering, beaten child sitting inside of Junpei's soul hardened. Hermes was ready.

Ripping away from her grip, Junpei announced to the train, "Dad, stay the hell away!" All the commuters who wanted a simple ride home from work tried to pry their eyes away, but family drama was juicy gossip. The train's onlookers bore witness as matador Junpei whisked the bull away from his original target.

"Go home, dad. Quit being a goddamn brat." Iori would have accepted the first swear, but two? In his house? It didn't matter whether or not the train was his house, because the world was Iori's plaything. He owned it, as far as he was concerned, just as he owned Junpei. "You leave home and now you curse at your old man? What kind of kid are you?" Just like it would have been at home, Iori rushed towards Junpei to leave bruises. His usual weapon of beer bottles were absent, so he balled his fat fists up and tried to drop them down on Junpei.

After waving around real swords the past few months, Junpei was more than capable of taking down an obese drunk. Iori ran, as if he was trained by TV wrestling, towards Junpei, who responded by gently leading his stride into the train door. A loud _crash_ ensued. Enraged, Iori refused to hear Junpei's pleas of "Dad, please stop," and forced himself up. Junpei pinned his beast of a father against the door, doing his damnedest to stop him from hurting anyone before police arrived. In exchange, Iori pummeled Junpei's face and upper body. His father tried punching hole through him, each injury throbbing harder with every punch.

The Gekkoukan kids stayed still, watching the punishment. Some began to record the event, other called for help.

But nobody stepped in as Iori rearranged Junpei's face.

As the adrenaline dulled the pain, each fist to his body rocked his brain to and fro. Junpei began to cry. Hard. Junpei never cried before. He thought a man never cries, a man doesn't seek help, and man doesn't need to endure. But Junpei endured. And Junpei cried. And Minako brought the police officer to the car.

Junpei's face was painted crimson, his nose profusely bleeding and pointing mysteriously to the left. His silent tears joined the concoction, and Junpei felt a wave of shame wash over him. Shame for showing his pain to the world, for airing his family matters to school, shame shame shame. The policeman pried the two apart and began talking. Minako became a Junpei whisperer, and the duo worked together to file the police report as the rabid handcuffed dog snarled at the crowd. He was surprised when Minako stopped talking.

"C'mon, answer him. Do you want to press charges?"

Every bruise was the story of Iori's alcoholism. Every pain in the chest reminded him of his mother. The tears poured down, painting Junpei with shame as his school watched.

"Son, you stopped a drunk man from assaulting a high school girl, and didn't stoop down to his level. In my eyes, you're a hero."

Fushimi spoke softly behind the officer. "My hero, mhmm."

Suddenly, the tears changed tune. Instead of gripping his vocal chords and choking him out, they sang out for him. Junpei realized he faced his father. Without stooping down to his level.

And the crying child became a crying man, cleansed by his tears.


	2. Toaster Woes

Toaster Woes

Summary: After Junpei rejects Yukari's offer, Aigis volunteers to have her nails done. Hijinks ensue.

* * *

"Let me do your nails."

"Never."

"What if I set you up with a cute girl from archery?"

Junpei mulled over the offer in his head. There was a cute looking brunette that Yukari always hung out with after school, but was it really worth having his nails painted? Her favorite color is pink. Not a particularly good look for walking around a busy port town with, nor fighting demons with. He told her as much.

"What if I chip a nail while beating up a Maya?"

"Stupei, I'm painting them. Not extensions."

Again, he thought about what she said. What was an extension, and what was the difference? When he looked at Yukari's nail magazines, it all had the same hand model doing the same thing on the cover. Not entirely sure what she expected, Junpei tried returning to his cup of instant ramen. Or what was left of it, after Akihiko asked for a bit of it. Boxing must be a ton of work, because that boy eats his weight in noodles every night.

Aigis piped up from across the room. "Yukari, can you do my nails?" Tossing her head to the side, Aigis looked on inquisitively. She was starting to get body language down, but her voice could use some work. Having a robot ask anything from across the room was intimidating.

Junpei answered for her. "Don't your fingers, like, shoot bullets?" Yukari and Junpei shared awkward glances, and looked to Akihiko for support. He was lost in his fitness magazine, and Mitsuru was probably upstairs working on the computer. The two underclassmen had an unspoken agreement to let Minako and Mitsuru teach Aigis about the world, because Junpei was decidedly the worst teacher of all time. Unfortunately for all parties, Minako spent every night in the mall, either singing karaoke or talking to the shady CEO of that dumb TV sales show.

It was up to them. Oh no.

Aigis walked over to the duo, insisting that she get her nails done. "Yes, but you can still paint them. I would like to be as human as possible," she added innocently. In response, Yukari stammered. It was hard for her to say no, and even harder to say no to kids. And Aigis is essentially a kid trapped inside the body of a cute teenage girl, evidenced by her obliviousness with all things related to boys. Yukari sighed, and tried to find another reason to give it up.

"Well, to paint nails you should soften them and file them first, and I don't think getting water on your hands is a good idea?" She posed it as a question, but it wasn't a question. It was a no, and any human would have understood that. However, Aigis is not a human.

"I am waterproof."

"Wait, wait, wait," Junpei interrupted. His face spelled disaster, as if he had been holding in something to say for the past few minutes. Which it has: he contemplated this idea for days by now, and this conversation made it so much more relevant.

"Aigis, how do you shower? Don't you like short circuit or something?" Aigis cocked her head curiously, not entirely understanding. Junpei tried to offer some context.

"You know, like a toaster?"

Crickets. Junpei looked at the oppressive atmosphere of the room, Yukari's cognac eyes raging against their cage, pleading to punch Junpei. Even Akihiko looked up from his magazine. Aigis spoke for the room.

"I am not a toaster. I am a girl." Yukari and Akihiko glared at Junpei as if he was a depraved beast. Aigis was just confused in her innocence, so she decided to clarify for Junpei in the odd case he actually forgot who she was.

"Haha, no! You're not a toaster! I just thought, you know, maybe getting some water on you would short circuit you, like bringing in a toaster to the shower? So I thought it might be funny if, you know, you went into the shower and you discharged like a toaster?"

"Junpei," Akihiko warned. "She's not a toaster. Quit while you're ahead!"

"I mean, it's not so bad to be a toaster! I love toasters!"

The dirty looks from Akihiko and Yukari bored holes into his soul. Aigis slowly turned around, walking to the dining table that Junpei typically used to kick his feet up. "Wait," she asked.

 _'Oh no, she's going to hate me forever. I ruined the team. Where am I going to go? They're going to kick me out of the dorm, I'm so sorry Aigis. I didn't mean to call you a toaster. But, it's not like a toaster is a bad thing! Robots love being toasters! They're useful!'_ His mind racing, Junpei withstood Akihiko's lecture for him, his face terrified every second. He was harsh, reminding Junpei that toasters are people too, and that he should think about people's feelings before he opens his "big mouth" to "talk smack." Yukari stared him down, as a good cop would support the bad cop during a confrontation.

Aigis broke the silence.

She lifted up an adorable doodle done in sharpie, and hung above her head for the room to see. The chibi drawings greeted the light, and their simplistic style proved Aigis was learning. The sign read, "JUNPEI LOVES TOASTERS" with Aigis's self portrait standing next to a chibi Junpei. She even got the soul patch right.

* * *

When Minako got home from belting her heart out at karaoke, she felt a bit more pep in her step. Coming up to the dorm, she could hear loud laughter, even from Akihiko. Akihiko never laughs.

She decided to stealthily approach the door, and see if she could get any words out of the hushed whispers through the walls. Minako tiptoed up the steps, and was surprised to see a little white sign on printer paper. Instead of saying the dorm hours, or 'Go home,' she read a little sign that said "aigis is the best TOASTERS" with a cute rendition of Junpei smiling at Aigis. With bread coming out of her head. Junpei's chicken scratch of handwriting strongly contrasted Aigis's all caps, and they decided to leave the S on toasters. Next to Junpei's scribbles was a block of black, which read "JUNPEI LOVES" crossed out.

"What the hell," Minako decided. It was less of a question, more of a surprise that everyone got along together so well. Even with a toaster.


	3. Classroom Baseball

Classroom Baseball

Summary: Junpei strikes out during class, so he spends the night complaining to his online friend.

* * *

"I heard a Fly buzz - when I died…"

Tired of listening to Minako flex her amazing marks on the last test, Junpei spontaneously decided to actually listen in Ms. Toriumi's class. This was a first, and all of Junpei's desk neighbors assumed that he was going through some tough times. Why would the class fool ever listen?

Listening took tons of extra effort, and Junpei needed a solid break from work. Scanning the class for other people slacking off, his mind instantly hopped to Yukari up front. Not because she wouldn't be working, because she always is, but she always crossed his mind during the day. Yukari's one of the girls that every sophomore would talk about in hushed whispers in the hallway, one of the girls that just walked the hallway and every head turned.

Every single one of his friends outside SEES gave Junpei shit for hanging out with her everyday, living in her dorm, even carrying her bags, but never making a move on her. ' _Kids don't understand how to be friends with girls. Real men know there's more in being friends than in flirting with girls to be shot down!_ ' That intrinsic value of being friends with the most popular girls of his grade and not making a move on either said a lot about his character. Some people thought he was arrogant. Others assumed it was humble. And a tiny, tiny niche hoped he was gay.

That thought of being humble gave Junpei a huge smile, and he returned eye contact with Ms. Toriumi to start thinking about the lesson. Apparently this small smile was a shit-eating grin, because Kenji said as much. "Quit smiling dude, or she's gonna call on one of us! And we don't want that!"

Maybe it was the smile, or maybe it was the shrill chatter Ms. Toriumi could hear from the back of the room. Instead of saying anything, Ms. Toriumi stopped interpreting the poetry and just stared. "No, no, no!" Kenji whispered nervously, making every classmate in earshot turn towards the back of the room where the fools sat. As the teacher stopped and simply stared, Junpei and Kenji became a beacon of idiocy. Two little fish as the shark at the head of the room turned over the thought of turning them into lunch. The shark bared its teeth.

"Iori. What's the name of the poem we're reading?"

A softball. This game of shark and minnow became a game of baseball, one that Junpei knew well. ' _Alright, Toriumi-sensei! Bring it!_ ' One of Junpei's favorite battle songs, the one used in "Innocent Sin Online," started rattling off in his head.

"Emily Dickinson didn't name her poems, sensei!"

"Hmmph." Good, so Iori could prove himself by listening to the first few minutes of lecture. But any harder question would easily embarrass him in front of the class, which was the whole point of these questions. Ms. Toriumi was not about to let Junpei win this little game. ' _Batter up, bitch!_ '

"What was the fly a symbol of in this poem?"

' _Oh, shit!_ ' A curveball! Ms. Toriumi never went from such an easy question to a harder one. She didn't even start that part of the lecture, because she spent so much time setting up the video of people reading the poem.

But, there was a way. Just like on any gameshow where a contestant has to answer questions, there was one in the classroom. Phone a friend! Junpei gently rapped twice on his desk, which was the predetermined signal for Minako to turn around and slyly give him the answer. Just as planned, Minako got the signal and turned to cough into her elbow. As she coughed, she made eye contact with her comrade and quickly whispered, "Death."

Ms. Toriumi knew this by now. Their system. These damn kids have a system set up where the smart ones will give the answer to the dumbasses and the smart kids will look so charming that they gain respect from their peers. And Minako just so happened to cough every single time Junpei gave the deer-in-the-headlights look and starting shaking, pounding his desk. Ms. Toriumi looked on in horror as Junpei moved from a heart-pounding terror into another shit-eating grin.

"The fly stands for death! You know, how it cuts in front of the light?"

' _Damn it!_ ' He said the right answer, and even offered some context for the rest of the class! Minako looked charming, Junpei looked a little smarter, and everybody in the class knew that the teacher is supposed to test the students. Lecture them. Make them learn.

Not even responding to Junpei, Ms. Toriumi took back the reins. "Minako, don't interrupt Junpei. Go to the bathroom and cough over there," she commanded.

"But-"

"Go."

Minako got up, sauntering over to the door where her charismatic form offered Junpei a sad smile. Junpei knocked out a home run, and slid his way into a ball with help from her. But now, Junpei was all alone. Minako dreaded thinking what was going to happen after she left, but there was no use questioning the teacher. That's not charming.

"Back to where we were, Junpei. Since you're so smart, how does this poem link to the other Dickinson poem we read yesterday?"

Blood drained from Junpei's face. The fast ball came right at him, but his bat didn't swing it. Minako couldn't catch it. Instead, Junpei caught it with his face, and he was defeated. He lost.

"Well, if you and Kenji stopped interrupting our lessons, you would know that Dickinson wrote most of these poems in the middle of a brutal civil war, so one of her common themes was the idea of death, and portrays it differently through different metaphors. As you see here…"

Ms. Toriumi continued the lesson quickly, and Junpei slumped back in his seat, defeated. Kenji tried to offer some solace, but he was more happy that he didn't have to face the burden of the spotlight. Not wanting to be a sore loser, Junpei perked back up and finished out the lesson strong, even taking down an open ended question. He might have lost the battle, but he wasn't going to lose the war.

* * *

After the longest day at work, trying to make students listen to her lessons, Isako pulled three cans of beer out of her apartment's mini-fridge. It was so damn small. Damn landlords don't pay for anything.

Wanting to relax, Isako grabbed turned on her behemoth tower of a computer. Many of her coworkers didn't realize that underneath her powerful mask was a youthful girl who just wanted to play video games, drink beer, and have fun. Isako decided to do all three, and signed into her Innocent Sin Online account.

Online, Isako could be a different person. Not the powerhouse at work, no, she could finally be free from the chains of society and be who she truly was: a drunk, flirty, youthful girl. She loved it. In-game, she named herself Maya, a cute, spunky girl, matching her perfectly. Luckily, her personality let her bump into another person in-game, Tatsuya. A true friend. Basically her boyfriend.

They did everything couples did! They talked constantly, gave each other items, and spent almost every day off from school together.

Tatsuya was a joy to be around. He was a student in a city, not a big one, and loved talking about both his day and her day. A much better friend than anyone she had in real life, she forced him to make a new account (his old one was named firebeast93, which meant he was born in '93, which meant he was definitely high school age) and name it to match hers. Maya and Tatsuya were the last few people playing Innocent Sin Online, and it just felt fitting.

As the hospital materialized around Maya, she saw Tatsuya idling around, waiting for her. So cute. She loved teenage guys. They put their heart into what they care about instead of splitting it up into everything like adults have to.

"lmaonade! wuts goin on Tatsuya ^_^"

"dude my teacher went ham on me today! she kept asking me hella hard questions"

"oshit rlly? i hav coworkers who do tht lol"

Isako thought back to what happened during the day. Who was it…

"yeh lol, ms toriumi is so mean to me! so hot but so mean!"

' _Oh shit,_ ' Ms. Isako Toriumi thought. ' _Oh shit._ '


	4. Internet Introspection

Internet Introspection

Summary: Ms. Toriumi mulls over her relationship while talking to Tatsuya, which gets interrupted by his friends.

* * *

Class wasn't the same after she realized who Tatsuya was. It was a strange mix of hot and disgusting. Why it couldn't have been Kaz, or at least somebody who cared a little more about school, and why did it have to be Iori of all people?

Every night, Isako drank more. She had to, because Ms. Toriumi knew it was wrong, but Isako wanted more. It was a strange dichotomy, and she never imagined having thoughts like this filling her head. The more she drank, the less weird it became.

"roflcopter ur so funny tatsuya xD"

"ye ye! we should call sumtime, u seem hella fun :)"

Isako froze. Well, there was enough alcohol running through her blood so that'd be impossible, but the shock of Junpei initiating anything after all she ranted to him was incredible. He really did care about Maya. But would he if he knew Maya was Isako?

' _Those are sober thoughts. Drunk thoughts should be more fun,'_ Isako concluded.

They spent hours together weekly, they went on _basically_ online dates, and they told everything to each other. This was so strange. Isako was basically dating an online guy, who just happened to be her student, who didn't know that she was his teacher.

"srry gtg, my friends are at the door. have a good sunday :)"

Before she could think of a response, Tatsuya went idle. Isako would never admit it, but she dreamed of what happened if she just told him.

* * *

"Wake. The. Hell. Up," Yukari screeched to the chestnut of Junpei's dorm door. Minako laid her back against the hallway and considered their options. The two ladies could just go to the mall together, but who would carry their bags? Who would pay for their Chagall? It was worth the wait.

After a solid minute of screaming, another door opened. Akihiko had a less than pleasant face being woken up by the dorm's banshees. He admitted such, saying, "Can you two be any louder?"

"Junpei promised to take us to the mall 15 minutes ago."

"Hey, meathead!" Akihiko walloped the door with the rage of a sleepless teenager, and Junpei reacted in no time. They heard him grunt from through the door, so it was clear he was awake this whole time.

"Junpei, when will you ever have two ladies waking you up in the morning? Open the damn door."

Yukari followed with a resounding, "You heard us this whole time, get out here!"

Junpei mumbled an apology, and finally moved away from his computer. Tearing the earbuds out, he quickly put his tank top on and scrambled to his pants. It was the middle of winter, so he quickly put on the lined jacket that sadly reeked of cigarettes. _'Never gonna forget this at Dad's ever again. It reeks,'_ which was a rude awakening for him. After he brought it up with Maya, she admitted that adults love vice. It's difficult to separate a smoker from his pack, an alcoholic from his bottle, a workaholic from his career.

It's weird, being friends with someone so much older. Maya talked like she could be one of his teachers. Still, older women just had a certain charm to them: they had stability that no adult in Junpei's life ever had. Maya made reason to his dad's vice where he just blamed him for all wrong ever done to him. She made sense of all the senseless violence, and Junpei appreciated Maya for everything she had taught him. What a good friend.

"Get off your stupid game and come out, Stupei!" Yukari was never bad cop with anyone, except for Junpei. He made it too easy to go hard on him, plus he never cared. Fun person to be around, but she'd never admit that.

When Junpei finally closed the door behind him, Minako and Akihiko were all smiles. Not Yukari. She _always_ gave him a hard time. Not that it was a problem: she was his best friend, or one of them at least.

"Sorry Yuka-tan! Maya just really loves me," he announced, smirking.

"I can't wait until you learn that Maya is a fat middle-aged dude that just loves preying on kids. He's not a girl, I swear," she responded, rolling her eyes. Why did he have to talk to some chick online when he had friends in real life that could do the same thing but better? Yukari just didn't get it.

"Somebody's jealous," Akihiko casually mentioned, turning back to his room. Yukari's face lit up, Junpei chuckled, Yukari slugged Junpei, and Minako just enjoyed the free entertainment.

"Normally, I wouldn't mix business and pleasure. But..."

"Stop thinking that, Stupei. Never in a million years."

Everyone shared a laugh at Yukari's anger, and started the way down the hallway. As he walked out, Junpei looked to his lonely computer, the blinking dot calling back to him. He could barely make out Maya's words of "haha ill miss u ^_^," and all he wanted was to charge back in and hang out with her. But a promise is a promise, and Junpei escorted the ladies to the mall.

* * *

' _Damn,'_ Isako thought. _'Teens are out having fun on a Sunday afternoon, and I'm left here drinking beer and looking like I came out of a damn dumptruck. Damn it.'_

After spending half of her sleeping time grinding for Tatsuya's Christmas present, Isako ran her shower warm and stepped in. Envious of the NEET life, Isako contemplated quitting her job and spending every minute of the day with Tatsuya.

Wait. He has to go to school.

Wait even more. He's a teenager.

 _'Get your shit together, Isako. I miss you? What was that? Ugh. Why am I in love with Junpei Iori?'_ And Isako thought, and thought, and thought. Thought about whether or not the girls in his grade liked him, whether or not he'd end up with a girlfriend. She thought back to the pre-semester reports: Iori had familial issues, and one of his middle school teachers suspected he was being abused at home. And yet he comes to class everyday with a smile, wanting to make people laugh, and even willing to be the butt of everyone's jokes.

' _He's a kid, Isako. Stop thinking about him.'_ But she couldn't stop thinking about him. In fact, she didn't stop thinking about him until the shower finally ran cold.

Looking at the sad excuse of a wardrobe she still had, Isako decided to go to the mall to get some new clothes.


	5. Panic in Game Panic

Panic in Game Panic

Summary: Hermit Isako Toriumi is surprised by her old friend, and they promise to catch up.

* * *

Leading the pack, Yukari bitched about some more school drama to the other sophomore SEES members. _'What did I do to deserve this?'_ is what Junpei would have thought, but Yukari's trash talk was so entertaining to listen to. In between the rumors of the popular girls messing around with some of the teachers, Junpei projected himself into one of those relationships. Popular people got away with pretty much everything, so maybe being Yukari's right hand man would let him get away with something scandalous as well.

"So she even said Fuuka could kill someone with her bento. That's just so rude! I had to tell her off, so…" Yukari paused, and the fantasy world Junpei was creating with his array of ladies fell apart. Assuming that she noticed he stopped listening, Junpei turned his attention back to talkative Yukari. She stood still, enamoured by someone in the mall crowd, a couple of storefronts down.

"Did Toriumi-sensei just walk into Game Panic?"

Thoughts of Ms. Toriumi spooked Junpei, reminding him of the bout they shared in the classroom days prior. As scary as she was, maybe this was actually a good chance to hop on her good side. A teacher must not be into gaming, so introducing her into a whole new culture would earn him some brownie points! She'd forever be in his debt, a white knight coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress! The pack mule excused himself to tromp his way over, leaving Minako and Yukari with a plethora of bags. Minako couldn't see over the stack in her arms.

* * *

Isako did her best to hide her figure, as to not be recognized by her students. But there was something so feminine and gentile about the color pink, and her hoodie matched her signature blazer at home. Entering Game Panic, she was recognized by her fellow regulars and a couple of students who love to track her every move. While irritating, no rumors really floated around her because that skank Ms. Kanou. Despite her bitchiness, she made a great cover for covert operations such as having fun outside Isako's hermit home. Maybe one day she'd thank her.

As per norm, Isako claimed the two-player game GunGodz for her session. One of the Game Panic employees approached, asking where she had been the last few weeks. Instead of the truth, which was Isako finishing the lesson plans for all the American literature for the end of the year, she offered a half-assed lie about family.

She could never judge her students who lied to get out of sticky situations. She did it too, after all.

Tearing through the first few minutes of GunGodz, booted footsteps approached her. Most of the regulars learned to not interrupt these heated sessions, so Isako paused the game to turn to whoever walked up to the second player spot.

' _Oh shit,'_ she thought.

Junpei, with a huge, ignorant smile, asked, "Is this spot taken?" Just like in all the American romantic comedies. Just like all how all the cliche relationships start, with a charismatic entrance! Isako shook with fear, blood bubbling underneath her rosy cheeks.

"Sensei, your face is glowing! Isn't the afternoon a little too early to start drinking?" He continued, laughing. As if this was a game! No, the hunt was on. Iori would be the perfect boyfriend, because he already was in everything but name. She could easily make her move right now, dazzle him, and their relationship would move from kindle to a raging fire!

He dropped the tokens into the second player gun, and restarted the campaign. Instead of the breeze GunGodz usually is, Isako's erratic heart and infatuated mind clogged her hands, and Junpei started to carry the game. Surprised, he said, "You were doing so well before I got here! Don't let me trip you up!"

Renewed to impress her date (well, he wasn't _yet_ but that's just semantics), Isako calmed her thirsty mind for the last ten minutes of the campaign, ending it with a score tripling her partners. Junpei offered an ecstatic high five, which she took apprehensively. "I've never even finished the game before, Sensei! You're amazing!"

The glow returned.

"Oh, I love coming to Game Panic!" For the amount of times she ran this scene through her head, fantasizing about dating Tatsuya for the past few months, she was awfully shitty at her lines. Isako couldn't follow up, clamming up her voice, which made her clam up even more, and just became a ball of tense anxiety. As the silence droned on, Isako panicked even more, fitting the name of the establishment. Junpei caught wind of this, so he offered to do the talking.

"You need to teach me how to play like you! I've always been a gamer, but you're on a whole new level Sensei." He said, smiling. This was her chance. His tone made it sound like he was going to leave, but she wanted him to stay. Needed him to stay. This was Tatsuya, the man who always listened, always made her comfortable, her best friend.

"Awh Junpei, just call me Ms. Toriumi. Fitting for an English teacher, right?"

Junpei smiled cheek to cheek, and offered something cheeky in response. God, she hated him. No wait, she loved him. Shit. "Already calling me by my first name! I guess I have to then, Ms. Toriumi!"

' _Oh shit, he knows. Don't let him know yet, Isako. Not just yet.'_ Instead of typical high school dynamic, this hermit and her magician stuck around. Most students leave their teachers to do their own thing, but Junpei wanted to pick her brains for whatever reason. Was it for a better grade? Oh, she'll give him a better grade. Was it because he started caring at school? Or maybe it was the ulterior motive to date her! Isako shook in her flats, wishing she dressed up a little more.

They shared some fine conversation, lasting them another ten minutes. Talking about gaming, how close Isako lived to the school, and a potpourri of first impression conversation. Her moment of bliss.

Isako's happiness was cut short when Yukari stuck her head into Game Panic, lugging around several frilly pink bags. "Stupei, come on! Who is gonna carry this back to the dorm?" Junpei began to excuse himself, but Isako was not about to let him get away.

She wanted Tatsuya.

"Wait, Junpei. Give me your email, in case you have any more questions."

Where was the shaky Isako who couldn't muster up the words she practiced in her head? This spontaneity surprised both of them, but Junpei was not afraid. With a hurried fervor, Junpei wrote down his email address on a napkin a finished their interaction with, "I like how you roll, Ms. Toriumi! Let's hang out again sometime, you're a ton of fun."

Isako could work with that.


	6. Killing Mayas to Talk to Maya

Killing Mayas to Talk to Maya

Summary: Yukari doubts herself as she comforts Junpei with his bout against doubt, frustrated that she's not the only one.

* * *

 _Why is_

The Maya lunged out towards Junpei, swatting at his legs as Mayas always do. He eyed the rest of his teammates, ensuring that his melodramatic swing wouldn't thwack anybody else on the team (It's happened before, Yukari constantly reminds him). The Maya's meek arm shot out beneath him.

 _Fighting_

As per Akihiko's recommendations, Junpei brought down the thunder right as it swung. The Maya narrowly missed as its blue-clad enemy leaped over it and brought down an oversized sword to its head. The shadow sputtered out of existence.

 _The only fucking thing I'm good at?_

It died. Junpei decided a little bit of him did the same, as he couldn't shake this looming feeling of dread. Yukari's shrill cry to his right re-attuned him to the fight.

Yukari clasped her Evoker, looking to blast the table harassing her with a gust of wind, but it was gone before she could shoot. Sighing, she looked up from her gun and admitted, "Thanks, Junpei. You always got my back." It was hard to say. The confession wasn't a lie, but admitting the bottom of the bell curve was one of the only reasons she was alive was difficult.

Junpei offered a cheeky smile, and pointed to the sky. The sky above this level of Tartarus that is, which was a very funky setting. "Who da man?" he asked his fallen enemies, pointing to an oddly bright red light lining the ceiling. He couldn't help but wonder who did the interior decorating of Tartarus, because they had to be somebody his Dad's age.

The celebration shocked Junpei's distracted cerebrals back into the current day and age. "Easy fight folks, let's climb those stairs!" Minako led the charge up the next flight, but Yukari couldn't herself. She waited for Aigis to run up the stairs with her signature 'hands hanging behind like some shounen ninja,' and approached Junpei. "You're out of it today, huh?"

Less of a question and more of an observation, Junpei took a solid minute to ponder. Should he admit his strange thoughts? They always come the day before he visits his Dad. They're a normal thing. But they're not a fun thing.

Usually those feelings were dread of seeing the next day, but this was much harder to swallow. The feeling of inadequacy. As if he was unsatisfied with himself, despite being very satisfied with himself. It was very fucking confusing for him, and would be even more confusing for her.

He wracked his brain for an answer, but Yukari read it from his sullen look. "Come on, anyone can tell when you're down. It's when the life of the party is low," she continued, tiptoeing about the subject at hand. The conversation might have gone farther, but Minako called down from the next floor.

"Barrier! Get up here, you nerds! It's time to go home!"

"Minako, what are nerds?"

"Shouldn't keep the toaster waiting, huh?" Junpei joked, and Yukari trailed behind him. Nagging and being an older sister was her strong suit, but Junpei was just strong. She surmised that maybe she was doing this for herself and not for him, but the slow trudge of Junpei's boots up the flight of stairs seemed to say otherwise.

"Yuka-tan, get going! I want to talk to Maya," he said with newfound vigor. If he turned around, he'd be face to face with Yukari's demonic visage. A face only a jealous, angry, melancholic, and desperate teenage girl to make. Something choked her voice though, as it always did with Maya, and the duo paced their way to the barrier.

* * *

The walk home was teeming with energy. Mitsuru insisted that the underclassmen quit talking as they walked past sleeping students, but it was difficult to put a lid on Junpei. Mitsuru hung her head in a sullen silence alongside Akihiko, listening to the rowdy crowd behind them.

"Fuuka, your cooking is getting way better! You should make us some platters tomorrow!"

"Uuh, for what? There's nothing really to celebrate…"

"We can celebrate how good you cooking is!"

Minako and Fuuka shook buildings as they perused past them. To be frank, it was more Minako and less Fuuka, but Minako's persistence sometimes pulled a volume out of Fuuka that not even a brand new GPU could do. She had that effect on people. Save for the pink and blue blobs trailing behind her evidently, which was odd for the walk back from Tartarus. Junpei was usually a one man party that rubbed Yukari wrong every way possible, making for a comedy befitting late night TV. Technically, he still was happy and kept up conversation, but his eyes and attention were glued to his phone.

"Oh my God. Junpei. Please. Pry your eyes away from Maya for two seconds so you can actually look at where you're walking." Yukari pulled down on the bill of Junpei's hat, which was frankly the worst thing anyone can do to somebody wearing a hat. An action so annoying, only befitting of a pair of battling elementary schoolers who won't admit they're infatuated for one another. Junpei was patient, though. Especially when it came to Yukari. He had a high threshold for her bullshit, which was perfect for her. She couldn't take it out on her the other popular girls.

"Actually, it's not even Maya! I'm emailing Ms. Toriumi right now!" He admitted, beaming. His smile pissed Yukari off even more, so she dragged his bill further down his face. A playful but scary snapping bite came from below her hand, so she opted out of testing her luck.

"Call her Toriumi-sensei, you moron. You can't just act like you're friends."

"But we are! We're actually chatting about my favorite MMO right now, it's great."

Minako and Fuuka flinched when they heard Yukari's gasp. He really was blind.

"Shut up. Quit texting until we get to the dorm." Lurching down on his phone to force him to pocket it, Yukari's hand followed Junpei's into his pocket. It was kinda nice before she realized it was kinda weird, and she looked up to Junpei in horror but his face was kinda happy, a kinda pervy kind of happy, so she kinda blushed and told him to stop looking. At least he stopped tapping away at his phone.

* * *

Although against Akihiko's warnings to turn in for the night, the underclassmen sat on the lounge outside the girls' rooms. The group gossiped, chatted about tests, listened to Fuuka nerd out about the most recent GPU, and slowly dispersed. Fuuka escaped to her dorm, and Aigis slinked up the stairs after returning an already asleep Minako to her room.

"Go to sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow. Tartarus trips make us all dead tired, especially the dumbass who carries a sword twice his height around," Yukari lectured. Junpei offered a meek and sleepy defensive, but she wanted to pry the truth out of him. Mean to do it while his guard was down, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

"Isn't it hard to, you know…"

"Visit Dad when I'm already beat from Tartarus?"

Took the words out of her mouth. The next sentence too, evidently, as she waited for his answer.

"Yeah. But I don't even think that's it right now, you know? There's like, a wave over me. I love where I'm at right now, but for some reason, I don't. Like, we're going great and we're definitely doing good things, but there's just this nagging feeling that I could be doing something better with my time. You know?" Junpei replied, talking a little longer than he usually does. It was hard not to monologue to Yukari. Despite her abrasive and cheeky jabs at him, she cared for him. Listened. Maybe if Junpei didn't have Maya to vent to, Yukari would be carrying more of his burden. That was the last thing he wanted.

"Yeah, I get it. Text me, okay? If it happens again, text me. If your Dad tries to lay a finger on you, text me. I will come over and beat his ass." Yukari yelled in a hushed tone. Her posture turned defensive, and her tight grip on the hem of her skirt eased Junpei's nerves.

"You really care," he smiled.

"I really care," she admitted. It was a very romantic moment, until Junpei interrupted their rather loving vignette with a painful reminder that she wasn't the only one. He tapped away at his phone with a smug smile.

"But quit texting!"


	7. Catharsis

Catharsis

Summary: Junpei makes little girls and old men cry.

* * *

Insistent on keeping her eyes on him for as long as humanly possible, Yukari walked Junpei all the way to the door of his dad's house. She contemplated just how stupid he was: after the incident on the train (that she heard from Minako, not even from Junpei himself), Junpei could have easily pressed charges and pushed his father out of his life for good. In his dumbass words, he still loved his Dad, and didn't want to punish him that much.

Junpei hugged Yukari goodbye, and she sulked off the Iori property as slow as possible. When Iori opened the door, he wore a wicked smile. Whatever. He was prepared for anything.

The hard part was the worrying. She decided beforehand that she was going to go back to the dorm and pick up Minako to watch a movie at Port Island station. They surmised that weird superhero movie would take her mind off handing Junpei over to the hellhound, but it no longer sounded appealing. Now she just wanted to plant her butt on the curb be a guardian angel.

From the corner of her eye, Yukari spotted them. Parakeets: when you tell these girls something, they turn around and repeat it to their friends, usually with some edits to make for some juicy drama. Not good to be in Junpei's neighborhood with parakeets around.

"Oh, like, my God! Takeba-senpai! What are you doing in the suburbs, you're like, totally a city girl!" The first bird chirped, looking to the rest of her pack for affirmation. They all performed an annoying giggle, and the furthest parakeet cawed. "Like yeah! A city girl would only be here for one thing: her boyfriend!"

Yukari definitely didn't have a boyfriend, and definitely didn't want them to have the wrong idea. These kinds of situations required a gentle touch and tons of thinking if she didn't want to have rumors spread.

"C'mon ladies, there's so much more to life than dating. Like food."

The parakeets looked at each other, dissatisfied with the answer. Almost as if a gossiping sphinx, they hard pressed her for what exactly she was doing. They passed over the important topics that teens hold near and dear: boys, drugs, and money.

"No, actually. I was on my way to pay respect to the dead."

Silence.

"My dad."

Rapid apologies left and right. The three birds left as soon as they came, leaving a wave of relief washing over her. She mulled over what to do next, and decided to avoid seeing anymore students from Gekkoukan. As she walked in no particular direction, she thought of her father. To be frank, he was the real reason behind coming to this city in the first place: to get answers from SEES.

Would he be okay with being used as a reason to avoid people? He was kinda antisocial. He would've done the same thing. It was still a couple months from his birthday, so there was no real reason to visit him. But she did.

Maybe that's why she liked Junpei so much. His problems made her feel normal, for once.

She meandered on the way to the graveyard, not taking any buses into account. It truly was close enough to just walk, but that didn't make the decision any less scary. On days like these, Yukari forgets why she fights and contemplates why she couldn't have just been a normal girl with a normal family. With friends who don't kill shadows. With a father who isn't a gravestone.

Not particularly happy with her choice of shoe today, Yukari sat at a bus stop and pulled her flats out of her. Not off, yes out, because they were digging into her heels. These shoes were for girls who didn't have to walk very far at all, so this spontaneous visit to the field of headstones was killer for her feet. If only Junpei was here to carry her.

Which was really a strange thought, as Yukari never shared her feelings about Dad with anyone. Even as Junpei struggled with similar problems, she'd just him through his. Dumbass.

* * *

Unlike every other weekend he spent at this house, Junpei didn't spend the whole day cooped up in the guest room to avoid Iori. Instead, he made a statement by making small talk in the living room. The animosity was almost tense enough to cut with a butter knife; perhaps being handcuffed on the train spoke more to Iori than words ever could.

He didn't swing today. Instead his words grated Junpei's ears, abrasive blades befitting a disgrace. Leaving him irate, Junpei wallowed in Iori's den of fury to make a point. Hermes wasn't a guardian angel that he summoned to do work for him. Hermes was him. A paragon of strength, of his strength. And what kind of man can routinely battle otherworldly monsters but not face his father?

"Why did you fucken fight back? You've embarrassed this family and the Iori name."

"Your Iori, maybe."

He almost let it go. But children don't let things go.

"What's that supposed to fucken mean, huh?"

"My Iori means strong. It means I'm going to be something someday, not sit around my house drinking beer and beating up kids."

Most heroes let their one liners fill the room and take their leave, but Junpei remained still, his eyes unmoving from the shitty game show playing. His guard was up, ready to jump into whatever altercation his dad was interested in. Pin the broken bottle on the Junpei, bruise tag, or even the fists are lava.

But they never came. In their place, Iori sat in his recliner, beer belly peeking out, and sobbed. Junpei half hoped he'd drown in his self-pity, but he just cried himself to sleep. The moment wasn't as sweet as he thought it would be, finally turning the tables and making his dad cry. Quite the contrary, the only feeling that trickled out of Junpei's warm heart was pity.

Justice isn't what it's all cracked up to be.

* * *

The moon finally out, a pale warmth greeted Yukari's tired face. With her legs sprawled out over the grass, she gingerly treated the headstone with the maintenance the workers gave maybe once a year. She cut the grass peeking over into Takeba's territory, wiped down the stone with a rag, and laid some fresh flowers over the top. It was no marble dais, but Yukari knew his priorities were elsewhere, namely her future.

Her phone peeped for the fourth time this trip. She paid it no attention, and relaxed on her lonesome. She spent every day of the month with other people, but this lonely time is when she needed them the most. A strange dichotomy, never deciding to let people see it or not.

"Yo, this seat taken?"

She jumped at the voice, almost instinctively shrieking for help before realizing the friendly, capped face. Mad he was there, but happy he was here. But how did he get there? But he's already here.

He sat down.

Did he creep on her just to see her vulnerable? But God knew she needed it. Still, that was a total invasion of not only her privacy, but of her father's memory. He would have loved Junpei. The stupid SEES is the only reason why he's gone anyway. They would have gone along well, that well intentioned drive keeping them together. But the fact that

He pulled her close, and Yukari's stone expression softened into what it was years ago, a little girl missing her father. In between her gentle storm, she falsely confessed to Junpei's chest, "I hate you."

Not wanting to ruin the moment, he buried her in his stupid jacket that didn't really smell like cigarettes anymore but more like him, and she kinda liked that, and she felt so safe that she cried some more. The storm kept going and going and going and going, happy to find another set of shoulders to be set on.

"You're strong. But we're stronger together," is all he could really muster. Which, though she'd never tell him, was more than enough. She was happy. Not a "got an A" kind of happy, or "I love this song" kind of happy. The smile that Yukari thought died with her father reared its ugly face, and she cried and smiled and sniffled so hard that Junpei forgot it was cold outside.


	8. Subject: aaaaa

Subject: aaaaa

Summary: Isako's cat, Ishi, is better at flirting than she is.

* * *

"First those pictures of you, now those videos of me and my dad. Why is this school out to get me, Jesus?" Junpei sighed, not even bothering to touch his bowl in front of him. Minako was already finished, opposite to the norm. Also opposite to the norm, Yukari decided to ditch archery to join their escapade, confounding Junpei. At some point, he decided not to question what girls were up to. They spoke another language.

Yukari began rattling off a shopping list of disappointments the other popular girls at school were having, from Kenji's pining after a teacher all the way to Fuuka's evolving culinary skills. Stuff that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things when a whole fucking tower erupted out of his school every night. He tried that excuse to get her to shut up, so she chided him in response. "Your grades, idiot. So what happens when we win? We become normal. And you'll wish that you got good grades."

"I hate it when you're right," Junpei groaned. His phone buzzed right on time, but Yukari made it painfully aware that she hated texting and hated Maya even more, so he decided to not check. Nothing he couldn't do later.

* * *

"Oh fuck," Isako spoke, terrified.

mayyyya AT fes,com

Subject: aaaaa

junpei i love u so much. ^_^ u keep wndering where ur princess is and she's rite here. ilyyyyyyyy. lets meet up after english 1 day? u said u like hakagure. same hur :)

When the "Message Sent!" text popped up over Isako's email, her heart melted, died, froze, the whole shebang. Her cat jumped off of her keyboard, specifically the enter button, and hopped into her lap for a nice cuddling session.

"Not after what you've done! I'll rename you to Shitty!" Isako screamed, swatting Ishi off of her. Her life was ruined. It was over. It's all done. She just wanted to write out these strange feelings somewhere, not actually send the email. Oh God, Ishi.

Junpei knows. Isako shuddered.

' _No, no, no. You can fix this, Isako,'_ she thought. The end game she was trying to prevent was Junpei knowing. If she can't unsend the email, then the obvious solution was to stop Junpei from seeing the message in the first place! Her heart slowly stopped racing and Isako's brain tuned itself, morphing her back into Ms. Toriumi mode. Critical thinking. Sleuthing. Fix this.

End Goal: Delete message.

Step 1: Locate Junpei.

Step 2: Get phone.

Step 3: DELETE.

Alright, so she has to find Junpei and hope he hasn't seen the message. Isako wracked her brain, and walked over to the calendar hanging from the door to her room. It's a Tuesday.

Tuesday? That's the day Junpei stands around class like a shmuck waiting for Minako to finish up her stupid rituals before they head home. Something like visiting the nurse for "courage" (whatever that meant), heading to the mall for "fusion" (as if adults don't know what fusion is! Isako wants to fuse with Junpei every night), dumb teenager things. But this time in the afternoon, they must be in Hakagure.

Of course, she went.

Still decked out in her work clothes (she napped in them), Isako boarded the train from Port Island and walked to the strip mall. Sitting down with her bag in her lap, she thought how this would go down. It'd be much easier without Yukari; although she's nice and kind to a fault, doing anything out of the norm to her friends sparks a fire in her eyes reminiscent of Isako's mom trying to feed her. The only one allowed to bully Junpei was her.

Which was weird, given Yukari's hair and pink ensemble closely resembled Isako's. Damn copycat. Now copying her taste in men.

She powerwalked her way down from the station, passed by Bookworms and walked her way up the stairs. Changing into heels in the off-chance Junpei is into tall women was definitely a mistake, because the steps were a cumbersome task. At least she almost finished step one.

* * *

Junpei was hard pressed this time, actively being involved in conversation because of stupid Yukari's stupid needs. _'Quit texting, I'm right here,'_ reverberated through his mind every time he absentmindedly reached for his phone. He just wanted to reply to Maya, is that so much to ask?

The curtains to Hakagure rang with the noise of a new customer, but nobody at their table paid it any attention. Minako was monologuing about Shinji-senpai of course, so looking away would be heresy. So, unbeknownst to her students, Ms. Toriumi strut across the restaurant, ignoring the staff asking how many were in her group, and stood at the edge of their table.

Minako stopped mid sentence.

"Junpei, I need to speak to you. In private." Mrs. Toriumi boomed. Even the table away stood still, everyone terrified by her presence. Junpei exchanged pleasantries and walked out of Hakagure with his English teacher in tow, forgetting so urgently to pay for his bowl. Yukari sighed.

"He's not coming back, I got it," she said.

"You make it so obvious, I'm surprised he hasn't noticed!" Minako commented cheerfully. Yukari couldn't even disagree.

* * *

Outside a rather suspicious takoyaki stand, Mrs. Toriumi disappeared and Isako came back out. A little timid, her stature laxed and she became a shy schoolgirl again before she even started the conversation. Junpei started it back up for her.

"So, this for business or for pleasure?" He said, laughing at his own joke. It rattled her, but Isako was determined to finish what she started.

"Uh, Iori-"

"Junpei's fine," he assured her.

"Junpei, I'm going to need to confiscate your phone." She assumed saying it without involving a reason would make this go much smoother, then cover it up by saying she had the wrong person! This plan was fool proof. Isako telegraphed her every move-"

"Oh shit, is this about the pictures?"

' _Sure, why not,'_ Isako thought. If he already had suspicions, then this operation was in the bag.

"Watch your language. And yes, it is."

Big mistake. Instead of obediently handing over his phone, this little excursion became a ridiculous tirade. Junpei began arguing, saying that the pictures weren't him, perhaps they were being propagated by the photo club, maybe they were taken by Kenji, but he remained adamant that he was not involved. In fact, he was preventing their circulation. Isako, unsure what to do, listened intently. Of course Junpei would defend his best friend, that was just his loving instinct. God, she needed him.

"Yes, but give me your phone. Just to clear this up."

"No! You don't understand, my pride is on the line! Please, don't ask me for my phone!" He bowed. Deeply. Strangers began looking; first, this young man was loudly defending himself from accusations, and now he was bowing to a much older woman. People of all ages began looking, and whispers were being shared.

Dozens of eyes were locked onto Isako. She forgot how to hear. Too many eyes. Her hands became clammy.

"Come on, let's finish this elsewhere." She tugged him towards the station, and Isako hid the two underneath an elevator, giving them just enough personal space to not want to die. While the hustle and bustle drove around them, there was finally a time for peace. Isako stretched out and relaxed, finally able to finish her mission. Junpei laughed to her laugh.

"What's so funny?" She smiled, still tense.

"Oh, my friend Maya. Probably getting drunk again," he laughed.

Isako turned to her side, and Junpei was smiling at his phone like an old perverted man at a football game. She just about died.


	9. A Good Guy

A Good Guy

Summary: Junpei thinks a good guy deserves better friends.

* * *

The summer had been ridiculously stupid. It seems like only yesterday, they were at the resort and met Aigis. September crept in weeks ago, and Yukari was fucking done. It could not go slower.

She was glad to see her Dad's face. Not what he had to say, though.

Supposedly, Dad caused an explosion that killed his entire team. That's not what fucking happened. She knew that's not what happened. He'd never make a mistake that huge. The Kirijos must've been hiding something. But it couldn't be Mitsuru; she was just trying her best. Christ, this was frustrating. Mitsuru deserved better but her father didn't. Something about SEES was related to Dad, she knew it. And she couldn't sit at that grave without thinking about it.

All those feelings culminated, threatening to spew out over the brim. Dad. Dying. Killing all those people. Kirijos. Junpei. Texting. Oh God, this was horrible. Junpei ditched from hanging out to meet with Ms. Toriumi twice; what was the point? Hanging out meant hanging out, not being distracted by stupid teachers who copy her style.

She tossed her laptop on the floor and covered her tears with pillows. Nobody could see her like this.

Fuck this. Fuck everyone.

* * *

"Yuka-tan, you ready to go?" Junpei yelled, slamming the door with his fists. She must've been asleep, cause this was the fifth time he had to call her name.

"No, I'm staying in today." That was surprising. She invited him out, after all.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Please go."

So he did. Minako, who barely stayed in the dorm, was busy tapping at her phone in the lounge. Scared for the future, Junpei asked her what he did wrong. _'She's going through a lot, you know, with her dad,'_ wasn't a good enough answer. After consoling her at the graveyard? After him showing her everything he's ever had a problem with, she still couldn't trust him? What a bitch. He shouldn't get caught up with stuff like that.

Minako excused herself to leave to the shrine, muttering something about the sun being so depressing. Again, he was alone. That was depressing. What did everyone else have that he didn't? Smarts isn't what makes someone fun to be around. It's charisma. He had that. Why would they leave him alone? Christ, this was frustrating.

Well, there's always Plan B. Hang out with Maya. Junpei logged into Innocent Sin, ready to spend his Sunday with his best online friend. At the very least she was omnipresent, always being there for him when nobody else would. That's what was so great about her. Always there and always cared.

Tatsuya arrived back at the hospital. Opening up his friends log, he noticed nobody else was on. Just a blinking reminder at the right of Maya's name, reminding him to read his unread messages. It popped open with a click, and Junpei got even more frustrated.

* * *

Isako could finally rest. She had done it. Her young fox finally knew her feelings, and it was time for him to truly be a fox. Chase her. Make her feel like a young lady again, ready for courtship. She watched her emails, waiting for Junpei's reply. He seemed so happy in person that Maya sent him that, so she felt satisfied without sharing her identity just yet. All she had to do was wait for Junpei to take the plunge. To do it first.

She spent all this time caring about him. It was nigh time he cared about her.

So she waited, next to her email. For him to say something. Honestly, anything. Just an email. For him to take the first step. To reach out and say, "I want you and care about you," rather than her doing it for him.

So she waited. And waited.

* * *

 _on hiatus! c u soon ^_^_ , the message read. What was the point of responding to that? There wasn't one. She always spoke first, and the minute she was back she'd send him a message. But that wouldn't be today, that'd be days, maybe weeks. So how would Junpei spend this lonely Sunday?

One minute he had too many friends to talk to, now he had none. Funny how life made that work. Except it wasn't funny, it was actually depressing. After being there for Maya every day for her to complain to him and barely get a word in, this was the thanks he got. Yukari doesn't trust him. Minako's too busy for him. Maya's on hiatus. Being there for everyone when they want you is great, but it's not when they can't return it.

The dorm stood a den of dread, save for Aigis idly playing with Koromaru. No, he was better than that. He wanted a real girl to talk to. Angrily shoving his hands into his pockets, Junpei rushed out and rode the train.

He stood up and held the rail instead of forcing his way into the sardine seats. Cause he's a good guy. Unlike his friends, apparently.

He had to piss, so he got off at the next station. Like a good guy, he waddled over to the door and waited without knocking. Who wants to be bothered on the john?

He held the door open for the next schmuck too. That's what good people do. And good people deserve better friends who don't flake on him when he needs them.

He left Port Island station, unsure where to go next. He walked out, and there was the redhead cosplayer scratching out a new doodle on her art pad.

So of course, he had to do what a good guy would do.


	10. Empty Desk, Hurting Chests

Empty Desk, Hurting Chests

Summary: Junpei skips class, making Yukari and Isako susceptible to some unexpected wisdom.

* * *

There was no baseball to play without a batter. She forced Minako to take her pitches instead, but it nothing felt _right_. No fun to be had in bullying someone with intelligence. No sexual tension to revel in. No dorky passion to rekindle Isako's dying hearth of a heart.

Isako sat behind her desk, dejected. Finally towards the end of the year, she could begin flexing what a degree in English literature truly gave: an understanding of poetry.

"Now what Lord Byron was exploring in this string of love poems is self-indulgence. To surround himself in extremity. That's what characterized the Romantic Era: extreme mood swings."

She couldn't help it. Isako was human too; sadness, anger. Her ire was directed to the absent seat in the back of the class, which held Junpei twenty minutes ago. Mr. Ono went out of his way to comment ' _A full class. Ready for their bushido training!_ ' The senile cosplayer was useful for something, at least.

The implication that Junpei was so adverse to seeing her that his class would be the _only_ class he'd skip today proved painful. Getting the lecture over with was difficult, so she portioned off half of class time dedicated to close reading some of Lord Byron's poetry.

Her laptop magically reappeared onto her desk, with the hunting intention of checking any emails from firebeast93. Hopefully including a love letter and an apology, because skipping her class was a disrespectful move, and anyone who understood the inner machinations of a woman would do just so. Alas, no luck. The only thing left in her inbox was a ridiculously worded email from Mr. Ono that talked in circles before finally asking her to izakaya at the Iwatodai strip mall.

Honestly, maybe she'd agree. She supposed she needed a reliable and passionate Tatsuta. Just one wouldn't do.

* * *

Yukari's hands still soaked in apprehension, she pocketed them and allowed her mind to wander off Lord Byron's page and into Junpei Iori's. On it, stood a hero. Junpei's Oxfords crushed Mayas beneath him, his weight convinced a Table to go from Sleepy to Crying. An absolute beast of fire wreaking havoc on the Dark Hour, protecting his healer and his glass cannon from sustaining any real scratches. A punching bag for playful banter they both needed. A shoulder to lean on when she needed it. A confidant to share secrets with, when Minako and Mitsuru were the ones to be whispered about. Where did that hero go?

Left in that hero's wake was an empty desk and broken hearts.

"Need any help, dork?" Minako asked, kneeling between her and the next desk over. The warm embrace of her smile crafted a copycat on Yukari's face, which was always a welcome surprise. "Lord Byron getting on your nerves?"

"Just... yeah." If she seemed troubled, then perhaps she should hide her feelings somewhat better. There's no use in worrying the leader of Tartarus expeditions. The team depended on Yukari to heal, good and proper, and an Evoker to the face was difficult under this brand of duress.

In reality, she knew what she wanted to complain about. This wasn't the place for it, though. As such, Yukari spat "He doesn't understand what love is. These girls he's leading on, intentionally or not, hurt when he leaves. They love him. Dumbass. His only motive is eating his fill of girl and moving on and on and on."

"I'm not sure we're talking about poetry anymore," Minako giggled.

"Yukari. Love isn't a noun. Love is a verb. It's active. If these girls really were in love with him, wouldn't they show him, in some way? Wouldn't they fight for his attention and affection?" She continued. This little lecture actually earned the attention of those around her, which happened to include Ms. Toriumi behind the desk. Toriumi eyed her suspiciously, as if Minako was expending this effort on the her rather than Yukari. The dirty look was decently hilarious, and Yukari contemplated laughing just to get her mind away from the heavy words.

"These poems are all about how he shows the ladies his love. When he's tired of doing the loving and wants some back, he gets nothing. So he moves on, in hopes of someone showing him love back."

Yukari wanted to argue. Wanted to say that it shouldn't have to go both ways in the name of love, and that it could just be repaid down the road. She bit her tongue, though. It never did, and it never would be.

Lowering her volume, Minako leaned in to give them some semblance of privacy. Ms. Toriumi didn't intend on giving it to them, though.

"How can he know you love him back if you never show him? Maybe the new girl does that."

Minako rose from her knees, offered another smile, and crept back to her seat. The microcosm of the classroom didn't halt; the chatter around her refused to subside, and the white noise perhaps tried to set her to sleep. Ah, might as well be a Romantic and indulge that emotion! Yukari set her arm as a bar across her desk and hid her face from the world in a vain attempt to nap.

Thoughts bubbled back, burning her eyes. Her fault? Nonsense. She'd shown him love everyday. With... angry comments. Stupid nicknames. Any mook could understand Junpei Ace Defective was really a rough translation for "I love you," right? Especially the one who took care of her. Dumbass.

Her legs wrapped around each other like threads of a bracelet desperate not to be separated. And she kept her head down, padding her eyes in her sleeve. It was a bad day to wear eyeliner.

Those words stung Yukari's eyes.

* * *

Those words stung, sending Isako irate.

After concluding class, Isako rushed back to the faculty office to check her emails in peace. Scrolling through her conversation with firebeast93, she noticed that he listened. And listened. Never really stopping Isako to speak, firebeast93 was a friendly slate for her to bounce ideas off of, to slap her for a reality check, never really offering up conversation about himself.

And the most recent one she sent: a contrived message begging him to act while asking him not to. She wanted to be chased. But how could he chase her? It's not like she spelled it out. A drunk, flirty message was in no way, shape, or form, a love letter. Lowered inhibitions. Love was sober. That wasn't love, what she did. What she did, that was just confusing.

Junpei didn't know Isako and Maya were the same person. She huffed off at the mention of her other self. His absence wasn't a declaration of war; it was just an absence.

Isako would need to triple her efforts, not quit them. Minako's words stung harder. New girl? That didn't speak in riddles?

Time for a showdown.


End file.
